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Qatar Airways postpones the delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX 8

Doha - Qatar Airways has postponed the delivery of its first B737 MAX due to uncertainties surrounding the aircraft. The Qatari carrier was expected to receive its first Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet next month.

“We will not be able to take delivery of the aircraft until we know exactly what the result of the investigation is and how long it will take the airplane to get airborne again,” chief executive Akbar al-Baker told Reuters news agency on the sidelines of an event in Muscat, Oman.

The Chief Executive has also expressed his full confidence in Boeing for resolving technical issues related to the aircraft's flight control system, which believed to cause two fatal accidents at short intervals.

The Qatari airline has 20, Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets in its order book with Boeing. Five copies are intended for the Group's Italian subsidiary Air Italy. Three of them have already been delivered to the Italian budget carrier and currently grounded due to the worldwide flight ban for the plane.